The Evolution of EPOXI

Astrobiology Magazine presents its latest podcast with our host Simon Mitton. In this interview, Tim Livengood of the Universities Space Research Association and Vikki Meadows of the University of Washington in Seattle describe how the EPOXI mission developed from NASA’s Deep Impact mission. The Deep Impact spacecraft, having successfully delivered an impact probe to the comet Tempel 1, now will be used to search for Earth-like planets orbiting distant stars. The spacecraft also has been used to observe Earth from a distance, helping scientists understand how gases in the atmosphere can indicate whether distant worlds contain life.